The Watchtower
by Drabble Box
Summary: -"If men are the trouble, ladies, then I think I have the perfect words of wisdom for you."- general justice league drabbles. #7/Men
1. Equals

Equals

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><p>It was making a turn for a disaster.<p>

"Look," Superman said as gently as he could. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt. Every punch I take is one that someone else doesn't have to."

"What are you trying to say?" Wonder Woman said, taking a step towards Superman. "That the rest of us can't handle it?"

"It's not that!" He was losing his intended words and others came tumbling out of his mouth. "I'm invincible, and I just—why should anyone have to take a hit that I can take without a scratch?"

"Because we all know what we signed up for!" Hawkgirl interjected, taking an angered step towards him.

Green Lantern followed her and took her shoulder. "No." he told her. "We can't start fighting now. We're supposed to be a team."

"_Team_?" She exclaimed, jerking her should out of his grasp.

Superman stepped towards her apologetically. "Look, I'm sorry. I know your every bit as tough as the rest of us." He paused for a brief moment trying to weigh his next words carefully. "But despite all of that, my body is just built to handle it all better than the rest of yours."

"Oh that's it!" Hawkgirl took her battle position, ready to leap on the other man and prove just how much he _couldn't_ handle it.

"No!" Green Lantern forced her back with his ring's power. "Stop it! Fighting like this will get us nowhere!"

"Well unless you have some place to be, _move_." Hawkgirl said forcefully, prepared to strike down the force field his ring had created between her and Superman.

"She's right, Superman." Wonder Woman said in her usually soothing way. "You can't treat us like we're all so breakable."

Superman looked around for some sort of help that he knew wouldn't be there. With a defeated sigh he said, "Regardless of how breakable you are or aren't, I'm still the one here that can withstand the most. I won't ask any of you to carry something that I can do all myself."

Perhaps he didn't mean his words in the way the rest of the League took them, but they all fell silent around him. Everyone stared at him, as if waiting for him to make good on his word and leave right then and there. They all knew how wrong he was. He knew how wrong he was. Already he'd proven that he could _not_ do this alone, which was the reason he'd come up with the idea for the Justice League in the first place.

Over time he must have built up unspoken, unrecognized resentment in himself. He always felt a duty to watch over his fellow League members because he knew he was the strongest of the group. He was so inwardly troubled because all of his fellows had been struck down in one way or another in battle and ended up in the medical wing of the Watch Tower. Except for him. He didn't find it fair to expect them to go into a fight time and time again when he knew he would be the only one to come out of it unscathed.

His words were true, however black and white they were. He _was_ invincible.

Batman stepped forward. Usually he kept to himself, but Superman's arrogance was hurting the entire team. "Fine." He said, reaching into his belt. "You want to take all of the punches? Take them." And with that, swung his fist at the other man.

Batman's fist collided with his face and he was thrown across the room. Surprised, he looked up at the Bat and saw a Kryptonite ring on his finger

The rest of the League's mouths were hanging open. Batman stood in the center, unfeeling and frowning down on his fellow team member.

"You know that's not fair." Superman told him, managing to stand on his feet

"You said you wanted to take all of the punches." Batman growled, jumping forward and hitting him again. "So take them!"

None of the others would've dared do something like this. Everyone knew Superman's weakness, and everyone knew what it could do to him. Including Batman. But Batman wasn't any of the others

Superman fell to the ground in front of Batman. He returned the ring to his utility belt and just stood over the other man without a word

"Bats…" Flash started, but stopped as Superman began to stand.

The two men looked each other in the eye. Batman's eyes were black and cold. It was as if he was staring right into Superman's soul without even blinking.

Superman's eyes were narrowed at the other man. Out of all the members in this group, Batman was the most of a mystery to him. Batman was a mystery to everyone. This man with absolutely no special power fought the same monsters, the same battles, the same things as all the rest of them, and he was nothing _but_ a man.

"You know what would've happened if you didn't have that." Superman said finally.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "The point is, _I had it_." He responded. "And you are not invincible. Now I suggest you get off your high horse and face the facts. We are all equals here."

"Batman is right." J'onn agreed stepping forward. "We are not equals because of what powers we have, but because of what we use them for. Superman…" He walked towards the two men. "We're all here for the same thing."

"I know that." Superman said, giving his alien friend a glance. "But Batman…" He turned back to the Dark Knight. "I can't ask you especially to take hits that only I can. You're only a man."

Flash took a concerned step forward. The rest were frozen where they stood

Batman's expression did not change. He turned away from Superman and looked at the rest of the League. "I don't have to prove myself to you." He said over his shoulder to the Kyrptonian

And with that, took his leave.

Superman knew he was right. He didn't need to prove himself. That man, the one who was just that and nothing more, had proven himself long ago as a hero.

* * *

><p>This is the second version of a one-shot I wrote back on my other account before I moved my Batman stories here. I didn't post the first version because I read over it again and decided that it wasn't good enough to be reposted.<p>

I wrote this when watching _Justice League_ (the animated series) and the team got into a big fight and… I dunno. I was just inspired to write my own. Plus I'd been reading _Hush_ and I just really wanted to write something where Batman punched Supes in the face. Because, as I think we've all come to terms with, I highly dislike Superman. Anyway! Here this is.

**R&R  
><strong>It makes me happy!  
>Katie<p> 


	2. Just a Man

Just a Man

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><p>Bruised and broken, Batman lay on his back trying to re-obtain the air he'd lost at the impact of being thrown.<p>

He couldn't move. He just lay there, twitching uncontrollably at the pain his body was feeling but his mind was not yet registering.

After what felt like forever the oxygen rushed back into his lungs too quickly. His throat burned as he spat and coughed, unable to stop breathing or get enough into his body at the same time. He heard the grunts and cries of the fight, but his vision blurred and only saw shapes and colours.

He attempted to stand again, but his arm fell out from underneath him.

"Let's get out of here!" he heard someone shout. Not his side.

The fight moved on and the sounds grew more distant as Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash all drove Copperhead, the Shade, Grundy, and Star Sapphire away. Abruptly it all stopped as the Shade covered his villain allies and escaped.

Batman heard the Flash yelling obscenities after them. He reached down and held his side, feeling the swelling bruise, but the action itself made him cringe and fall into a fetal position with a harsh groan.

"Where's Batman?" He heard Wonder Woman ask.

He heard the wind rush as the Flash took off to search every corner before anyone else got a chance. He saw the red shoes stop in front of him. "Here!" he called to the others.

"My god…" Superman muttered as he approached.

Batman tried to sit up. "I'm fine." He managed, but once again his elbows would not hold him and he fell back to the ground.

"No you're not." Superman said in that _way_ he does. He felt the Kryptonian pick him up, one arm at his legs and the other holding his neck.

"Don't." Batman said, a weak attempt at force. He lifted his arms to push Superman away, but it was like trying to move a stonewall.

"No. You 'don't.'" He held firmly onto Batman.

"Batman…" Wonder Woman began, but lost her words.

He felt the ground leave as Superman flew to the airship. "We've got to get him back to J'onn." He heard as he drifted out of consciousness.

"Is B-man gonna be okay?" the Flash asked as Wonder Woman settled at the controls.

"He'll be fine." Superman said forcefully, as if there was no other option.

/

Batman's eyes fluttered open. His cowl was off and he could hear beeping noises.

He shot up, and his vision went black immediately.

"Hey. It's alright." He heard the voice of Clark Kent, or rather, Superman.

The stronger man pushed him gently back down. Batman snapped his hand up and grabbed his wrist. "I'm fine." He said as his vision cleared.

It was just them. Wonder Woman, the Flash, and J'onn must've all gone out to find the escapees.

"No. You're not." Superman responded, but let him sit up.

"Yes. I am." Batman swung his legs over the side of the bed. He pulled the pulse trackers J'onn had tapped to him off in one swift movement and looked around for his cowl.

"It's ripped." Superman told him.

"I've got spares." He responded shortly.

"Bruce—"

"I'm fine." He interrupted. "Stop treating me like I can't handle myself."

"We'd never seen you that bad before. You couldn't even breathe on your own." He paused. "We all thought you were going to die."

"Well I didn't."

"I know. But Bruce… you need to slow down for once and rest." He opened his mouth to interrupt again, but Clark beat him to it. "I know you're more than capable of dealing with things yourself, but Bruce, you almost _died_."

"Worse has happened." He said shortly, debating on whether or not to stand. He rotated his feet and legs to try and get blood rushing in them again.

"Bruce, I get what you're going through." Clark tried. "But you can't keep pushing yourself; you're going to go over the edge trying to prove yourself. We _all_ know that you handle anything that's thrown at you, but… you're just a man."

Batman tensed and his fingers coiled around the edge of the hospital bed. Ignoring the feeling of protest his body yelled at him, he stood and looked Clark dead in the eye.

"I'm fine." He repeated.

With that he walked to the end of the bed and opened a drawer at the base, pulling out a new cowl.

He didn't look at Clark again as he walked out of the medical wing.

* * *

><p>This is my first attempt at anything JLA. I just had to come up with random villains. Don't question it. :) I'm going to try and get better at this. I think I've improved on writing Batman. Now to improve everything else.<p>

Just a small little thing I was inspired to write. Does it show that I have a passionate hatred for Superman? I love the Supes/Bats friendship though… This isn't really that though. I'm not sure what this is. It just is. I think that the JLA sometimes don't treat Bats right. I mean, he doesn't have powers, but he saves their asses a _lot_. Some say he's got super wealth. Bull. Yeah he's rich, but so what? It's his discipline and dedication that _makes him Batman_. He's the best Superhero. I don't care what anyone says. I'll stick by that until the day I die.

**R&R  
><strong>It makes me happy!  
>Katie<p> 


	3. Ignorance

_[ **justice league **]_  
>-drabble collection-<br>the watchtower

* * *

><p>"Hey Bats!" Flash called to the darkest member of the League.<p>

Batman sat at the computer going over the plans they had for a new wing on the Watchtower. He blatantly ignored the red-clad superhero.

"Bats!" Flash continued. "Bats! Baaaaaaaats!" He persisted, running to the left and right of Batman, tapping him on the shoulder, the arm, and the head. "Bats!"

"WHAT?" Batman turned to him sharply, finally losing his cool.

"Take off your mask." Flash shrugged with a smile.

Batman paused. "No."

"Take it off!" Flash whined. "Take it off!"

With a short irritated sigh he removed his cowl, revealing the face of Bruce Wayne. "Happy?" he asked, putting it back over his head and returning to the computer.

"So you really _are_ Bruce Wayne?" He contemplated, leaning against the wall next to the computer and watching the billionaire's face. "Geez. You'd think someone who has everything he could want would be a little happier than you."

"Flash." Superman said shortly from the other side of the room, removing himself from the discussion he was having with Lantern and J'onn. "Cut it out."

Wally darted over to the Kyrptonian and leaned his elbow against his chest and throwing his thumb over his shoulder at Batman. "Well I'm just saying." He said. "Bats could crack a smile more often. And when I say more often, I mean for once in his life."

Lantern slapped his hand over his face. "You couldn't be a little denser, _could_ you?" he asked.

"Hey, I'm just saying." He repeated, holding his hands up in front of him defensively. "I just don't get it. Not smiling, I mean. His life couldn't be _that_ bad." He paused. "And when I say that, I mean his life _isn't_ that bad."

"Having one's parents shot and killed right in front of him could do that to someone." Batman said darkly, his eyes never leaving the computer screen.

Flash immediately fell downcast. "Bats…"

The room was silent. Wally could practically feel Lantern's stare into the back of his head.

"Well… what about Supes?" he asked. "I mean… you lost your whole planet, right?" Flash looked at his friend, as if searching for some kind of reason. "And J'onn…" he turned to the Martian's unfeeling face. "Well J'onn is a bad example…"

"Flash!" Lantern snapped, rounding on him. "Shut up."

"It's not exactly…" Superman searched for the words to describe. "Well… it's not the same, I suppose?" He looked to the alien and GL, asking for the approval of his words.

Batman stood and turned to his comrades. "No. It's not." He said, staring at the speedster, his lips set into a half frown.

The room fell into a very awkward silence as they all stared at Flash, who had no place to hide behind his overbearing ignorance in the situation.

He looked from hero to hero. None of them could offer him help in the situation.

"Um…" he started. "I lost a puppy once?"

There was a moment's pause. Lantern slapped a hand to his face again and Superman shook his head. Batman looked at Flash for one more moment then turned and left the room without another word.

* * *

><p>I've been watching so much JL lately. I keep getting inspired by certain episodes or moments. I just had to create another collection of drabbles dedicated to that. So here's one that I randomly thought of. I wasn't sure how to go about getting it to the puppy line. So I'm well aware that this is not my best work. But I figured I'd try it. Plus, Flash is just so damn cute. I love Wally.<p>

**R&R**  
>It makes me happy!<br>Katie


	4. Glasses

_[ **justice league **]_  
>-drabble collection-<br>the watchtower

* * *

><p>"Hey Clark?" Wally West sped up to his crime-fighting partner as he entered the Watchtower in his everyday attire.<p>

"Yes Flash?" he replied, giving his friend the regular smile.

"Are your glasses real?" he asked.

"My glasses?" Clark asked, removing the lenses from his face and handing them to the younger man.

"Yeah, are they real?" Flash asked as he stuck them on his own face. "They aren't. Cool." He took them off and handed them back.

"Why ask?" Superman asked folding them and sticking them in his breast pocket.

"Well I was thinking today, that if one of us—any of us—wore glasses or contacts or something, it'd be really annoying during battle." When Clark tilted his head in confused, Wally continued, "Y'know? Like if we couldn't see… or we were wearing contacts and a piece of dirt got stuck in it. Man that would suck."

"I suppose…" the Kryptonian allowed.

"Anyway," Flash shrugged. "I was just wondering."

"Thanks?" Superman said, not exactly sure how to respond.

"Yeah, no problem. Just lookin' out!" He smiled and with a very Wally kind of shrug, took off to head back to the monitor.

* * *

><p>Yeah. I don't know. Just something I thought of before I went to sleep.<p>

Also, there was some controversy over the last drabble. And I wanted to clarify to all. The last chapter was _not_ about comparing the disasters of the characters. I wrote it to get in that puppy line at the end. That was the reason. But what happened in the chapter was not meant for that. Batman was _not_ saying his life was worse. It was exactly how Superman said. It is a different situation, therefore there is no comparison. That was all. Sorry if it came off the wrong way. I really didn't intend for that to happen.

Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed the little drabble above, and I hope I've clarified that bit for you. Sorry again! Thank you to all of the reviewers, no matter what you said. I enjoy critiques on my writing. It only helps me grow.

_Also, if anyone has any request for something, feel free! I welcome them. They help me with ideas!_

**R&R**  
>It makes me happy!<br>Katie


	5. Balance

_[ **justice league **]_  
>-drabble collection-<br>The Watchtower

* * *

><p>"Has anyone noticed the horrible male to female ratio in the League?" Flash asked one day as he walked into the computer monitor room where Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern were gathered.<p>

"Not the time, Flash." Green Lantern frowned as the younger superhero entered.

The red-clad superhero raised his hands defensively. "I'm just trying to say that the balance of the women versus the men is extremely off."

Superman glanced at his comrade with a look of amusement. GL rolled his eyes and turned back to the conversation with the other two men.

"Seriously!" Flash darted over to them, slinging his arms over Lantern and Superman. "We've got Wonder Woman who is a princess and has a scary vendetta against men. And then Hawkgirl who just kind of scares me." He threw his hands up in the air. "Is no one else bothered by this? It's not like we can just start getting with the _bad_ girls, right?"

Superman threw a knowing smirk at Batman, who returned the gesture with a hard glare.

"Wait." Flash held up a finger, noticing the exchange. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. Am I missing something?"

Superman scratched his nose in an effort not to laugh as Batman fixed Flash with a stare that clearly said _drop it_.

Lantern looked between all three of them. "Am _I_ missing something?"

Flash narrowed his eyes at his two other friends. Then his eyes widened. "Are you trying to say we _can_ get with the chick villains?" He asked. "Because I so call Star Sapphire."

* * *

><p>Um. Yeah. I don't know where this came from.<p>

Just to all of you, I am a Batman/Catwoman shipper. Hardcore. While I do kind of live BM/WW, I will always and forever be a SM/WW. Since I was little, I always thought they belonged together. And Bats and Catwoman were made for each other. In response to the request I was asked for, I'll work on it. I've never done anything like that before. I don't know how it would turn out. Especially since I prefer BM/CM. I'm going to try and keep this, for the most part, pairing free as much as I can. Except for GL/HG… that's canon in the cartoon, and I love it. It's hard to get around it, so we'll see.

Thanks for all the kind reviews on the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.

**R&R**  
>It makes me happy!<br>Katie


	6. Loss

_[ **justice league **]_  
>-drabble collection-<br>The Watchtower

* * *

><p>A little girl, no older than eight, stood crying as the fire fighters and Justice League put a fire out that had started in an apartment building just outside of Gotham. There were too many noises for any one to notice her.<p>

There had been three casualties. Fatal. Two of them were the little girl's parents.

The little girl knew what had happened. She had seen it happen. The beam had fallen too quickly for her father to push her and her mother out of the way. It had crushed them both. The flames had been too much for her and she'd taken off running for the door.

Suddenly a black-gloved hand held a singed teddy bear out to her. Sniffing she reached for the bear and took it in her arms. Looking up at the gift-giver, she saw a tall man with a mask over his face. His lips were sternly set. Though young, she knew this man. After all, she did live outside of the city the Caped Crusader protected.

"Did you save them, Batman?" she asked quietly, her voice hiccupping as she spoke.

Sadly, he bent his head and closed his eyes. He was sympathetic to this small girl.

The tears started again, though this time, they rolled silently down her cheeks as she closed her eyes and hugged the bear to her chest. A quiet sob escaped her lips. What would happen to her now?

Batman pursed his lips. He knelt down in front of the girl and took her chin, gently forcing her to look at him. He managed a small smile. Tearfully, she managed one back. "I'm sorry." He said simply.

"Does it ever feel better?" she asked. She didn't know he was an orphan. It was a guess.

The Dark Knight sighed. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that it didn't. Not really. Some days were better than others. But she would never lead the life he had chosen to lead. She would never feel as alone as he felt sometimes.

She knew what he meant. This little girl was already forced to grow up faster than other children her age, and he knew how that felt. She wrapped her arms around his neck, silently asking for everything to be okay.

He returned the hug, much to her surprise. He gave no silent response, other than his deepest sympathies for her.

Today would always be the anniversary of his parent's death too.

* * *

><p>Just something I came up randomly. It's okay, I guess.<p>

**R&R  
><strong>It makes me happy!  
>Katie<p> 


	7. Men

_[ **justice league **]_  
>-drabble collection-<br>The Watchtower

* * *

><p>Hawkgirl entered the computer room with an angered howl. She slammed her mace against the wall, leaving a dent a bit larger than her head.<p>

"Something wrong, Shayera?" Wonder Woman said calmly from her seat.

The redhead snorted like an angry bull and threw her mace to the ground so she wouldn't leave more dents in the wall. "Men." She stated simply, anger lacing the word as if it were a curse.

Diana smiled. "Men." She agreed.

There was a glimpse of red and suddenly Wally West was standing before the two women with a smug look on his face. "If men are the trouble, ladies," he said matter-of- fact. "Then I think I have the perfect words of wisdom for you."

Shayera rounded on him, glaring and growling, daring him to continue.

Flash's eyes widened. The anger of Hawkgirl was not to be trifled with. He held his hands up defensively and said, "Look… GL knows you're not weak. He's just got major issues with giving up control and all that junk."

"Words of wisdom, huh?" she replied, backing off and folding her arms.

He zipped over to Diana, resting an elbow on her shoulder. "And as for you, we all know the Bat has some issues. Y'know?" he tapped his head with two fingers and whispered, "_Up here_."

Wonder Woman lost her words. Hawkgirl tilted her head at her female counterpart. "You and Batman?"

"_What_?" she said, shocked and embarrassed. "No, no. We're friends!"

Flash nodded, comically understandingly. "Uh-huh." He agreed. "I hope this helps." He saluted them nonchalantly and smirked. "Ta!" And without a word dashed off as quickly as he came.

The two heroes stood for a moment. Finally Shayera broke the silence. "_Really_?"

* * *

><p>Um. I got this request a few back, and I randomly had an idea for it. I'm not exactly experienced with GLHG writing. And I'm EXTREMELY inexperienced with BM/WW writing. I'm not the biggest supporter.

I'm still working on how to get WW and HG's characters right. I'm working on all the characters. I think I've gotten better with Flash though… what do you guys think? Feedback is greatly appreciated. You all are helping out so much!

As for the BM/WW thing… I'm more of a BM/CW fan myself. That's my Batman pairing dedication. Huge BatCat fan. To the core, I am a BatCat fan. Watching JL with all the BM/WW things going on… as a BM/CW fan, it makes my skin crawl. I am not a hater of the pairing. I do enjoy it on occasion. But I'm not a big fan of Batman romance fluff. It's outlandish, strange, and (usually) OOC to me to have BM fluff. Now dark fluff is a different story… Angsty fluff (say what) is also a different story.

Either way I hope this suffices. As I said before. I'm a SM/WW and BM/CW fan. Those are my loyalties. I'll try to get a little dose of everything though. If someone has a request, I'll be more than happy to attempt it.

**R&R**  
>It makes me happy!<br>Katie


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